IPA | Maumee Bay Brewing Company

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Nicely balanced flavorful ale, made bitter with copious amounts of Centennial hops and a long fascinating history. A real treat for hopheads and the brewer’s favorite beer!

Reviews by WesM63:

More User Reviews:

Appearance – This is a nice, thick, brownish-orange in color with tons of floaties and a pure white head that showed good retention.

Smell – This is billed as mainly centennial but there’s a funky feet kind of aroma to this hop profile that’s a bit off-putting.

Taste – The funk stays at the nose which is a relief. The hops though don’t fare too well at the taste and the malt is shallow which I didn’t expect. This thing foamed up like a banshee on the pour but now seems to have pretty much wimped out.

Mouthfeel – This is a solid medium-bodied with way too much carbonation for the style.

Drinkability – This was not a classic example of the style. It’s not bad, but something went wrong in the manufacturing process. It’s overcarbonated, under hopped, and lacks a solid malt backbone. Too bad because Maumee is right in my backyard, I went to MVCDS as a kid in grade school, so I really wanted to like this beer but it just didn’t cut the mustard.

Thanks to my Canadian friend, mowog, for stopping by the brewery and bringing a fresh growler down to my place in Kentucky. This pours a clear amber body with a small, offwhite head. Good retention and lots of patchy lace.
Aroma has a soft, fruity nose with orange and apricot esters. Excellent caramel malt base offers up a toffee smelling underbelly.
Mouthfeel is silky, medium bodied, with a delicate carbonation.
Taste has a smooth caramel malt base, accented by mellow notes of apricot, pineapple, and orange. Some citrus rind bitterness is barely enough to even out the sweet tropical fruitiness.
Definitely, a different interpretation of an American IPA, but an excellent one. Very well balanced, softly hopped, and highly drinkable.

This is a deep orangish-amber color. with a bone-colored head of moderate size and excellent duration. Overly bitter given the levels of hop-based aromatics and flavors. Hop component features earthy and piney notes.

So...I took home a growler and reviewed it and my review was deleted. Not sure why.

The review is going to be the same all-around as my on-tap review. On opening the growler (having given it as much time as I do any other), I was pleased to discover that this is the least affected by its growler storage and, in fact, having no noticeable changes made to its character in any way that I could detect. I still got a firm head with the same retention and leaving the same amount of lacing, the aroma was just as firm and identical to what I first noticed, the flavor was likewise, no carbonation was lost and the mouthfeel was just as lively. Obviously, then, drinkability was unaffected as well. Therefore, to know my scores and notes, simply refer to my on-tap review.

India Pale Ale is a rather hazy copper color. Backlighting gives it an orange tint that’s rather attractive. An off-white head tops it and stands about a finger or so tall. It falls pretty quickly, but leaves a rather sticky web of lace lining the glass. Not bad.

The nose is below average. It’s lacking in strength and doesn’t have any pizzazz. It smells a little sugary sweet up front, but I’m not getting any caramel. That’s a positive. There are some hoppy notes, but they don’t really stand out. There’s a hint of citrus orange and some light floral and spicy notes. Nothing comes through very strong. Alcohol is blended well for what it’s worth.

The flavor is pretty average. It is a little better than the nose, thus the score bump. The base consists of mostly pale malt. There’s a hint of sweetness, but there are no caramel or toffee flavors. The hop flavor is just okay. It needs more in terms of flavor. Citrus orange and floral notes are the centerpiece. It is a bit bitter and dry. Alcohol isn’t much of a factor. It’s alright. It honestly just needs a little bump in hop flavor or diversity to make it more interesting.

The body falls on the light side of medium, and feels a bit thin for the style. I’m the lack of caramel malts is partly responsible. Carbonation is rather light. It’s not smooth, but it’s not bad. Mouthfeel is probably one of its stronger points. It goes down alright, but the flavor grows a bit tiresome.

India Pale Ale isn’t a bad release from Maumee Bay Brewing Company, but it isn’t exactly a good one either. The flavor is just okay. It needs a stronger, more diverse hop flavor. As it is, the flavor is definitely overshadowed by its bitterness. The nose could definitely use some work. Eh. It’s just okay.

The appearance had a hazy orange to light ruddy yellowish brown color. There’s a light glossy white foamy lacing trying to stick but sliding for the most part. The smell had a slight pine to citrus to grassiness trying to have a delicate grapefruit but really stays towards the pine. The taste was bittersweet pine/sweet citrus with a misleading spice that I’m unsure where it came from because I didn’t get any of that in the smell. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium with a decent sessionability about it. The carbonation was there but not as sharp as expected for the style. This one comes across smoother than expected. Overall, decent for the style and to me.

A bomber bottle purchased at the brewery complex (in the cafe to be exact).

A: The IPA is a golden brown color, coppery amber through and through. The ale retains its transparency, even picking up a bit of a radiant glow. Over two fingers of white head leave isolated patches of lace behind.

T: The biscuity grains come through first, a strong start to the ale. Hops follow with citrus flavors but they aren't up to the task. The hops get more vegetal as they go along. Nothing off-putting, just plain.

M: The mouthfeel is grainy with light biscuits. Hops pop through occassionally but don't bring a pop with them.

22 ounce bottle. Served in a nonic pint glass, the beer pours a mostly clear orange/amber color with about an inch off-white head. Head retention is good, and there's a decent amount of lacing left on the glass. Aroma is citrusy (grapefruit, orange peel) and pine hops, along with some sweet malt. Taste is pretty much the same as the aroma, but there's the addition of some spicy hops and bready malt. Nice lingering bitter finish. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit slick and sticky with good carbonation. It's smooth and goes down easy. I think it's an enjoyable brew, not bad for $4.99 a bottle. I think it's worth a try.

A - It is burnt orange with amber and golden highlights. An inch of beige head settles to a thin layer on top.

S - I smell some caramel malt, citrus, and a little bit of alcohol.

T - The first thing I notice is a lot of malt. Then the citrus hops come into play. I also notice some alcohol.

M - Medium

O - It almost tastes like an old IPA. I saw no bottling date, so I have no idea how old this bottle is. I was hoping this would be a good beer because I really like their other bottled selection. It is okay, but I would like to try it on tap to see if there is a freshness issue.